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Here's Why TED and TEDx are So Incredibly Appealing (infographic)

Watch any TED(Technology, Entertainment and Design) video and you’re most certainly met with an intellectual adrenaline rush, like the feeling that rips through you after a significant accomplishment. Except this time, the thrill is triggered by the imagination and not the act. How TED and its TEDx licensees manage to consistently produce that effect on people, is one of the many intriguing things I learned after talking to TED’s leader Chris Anderson and researching the TEDx phenomenon.

You might think their success has to do with the quality of the speakers, and that’s partially true, but the main reason extends much deeper. It includes a certain X factor that you never see on camera or while sitting back in the auditorium. For me the ‘x’ factor in TEDx truly are the organizers. For TED, it’s Anderson and his team. TED and TEDx make their events interesting because the Organizers are interesting. They select interesting themes, interesting speakers and interesting audiences (more on that later).

The difference between TED and TEDx events are that the former takes more of a global approach while the latter typically focuses on a local community that concentrates on local voices. “Officially, the ‘x’ in TEDx stands for independently organized TED event – but it’s more of a TED multiplied. It’s been the force that has taken TED across the planet and seeded all of these communities. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Anderson explains, “and I’m absolutely in awe of that.”

Just look at the results:

How do They Create the TED Experience?

The TED philosophy, according to Lara Stein, the Founder and Director of TEDx, consists of one sentence, “it’s about simplified, authentic storytelling.” Which seems to fit well with its mission of, “ideas worth spreading”. Combine both with a remarkable TEDx organizer and speaker and you get the 18 minute presentation equivalent of a Hollywood blockbuster.

TED and TEDx are powerful events because their organizers and staff don’t do it for the money or the fame – for which there is neither. They do it to make a difference. And people that do things out of passion, do them better.

It comes down to what Amir Banifatemi Curator of TEDx Orange Coast says is one of their secret ingredients, “TED is about discipline. I practice with a lot of my speakers and so do many of the organizers. It makes each presentation clean, understandable, and extraordinary.”

The other main ingredients involve the careful curation of both speaker and audience. “We’re looking at the audience as much as we’re looking at the speakers. We have an audience submission chart. We’re weeding out marketers. We want the right types of people in the room to be able to listen to and engage with our content, and will actively promote those kinds of conversations on a regular basis,” TEDxSanDiego organizer Jack Abbott explained to me.

The Organizers are so adept at what they do, that they help turn people that would otherwise not be stars, and make them stars. They find, coach and provide a platform for people that are doing remarkable things or have big ideas that would never be recognized any other way. And that makes Chris Anderson: “Really proud of that reality. It’s exciting that we’re in an age where someone can achieve global recognition for an idea they share with others. Think of how it impacts kids and how they dream about their future. Maybe it means that some kids stop dreaming of becoming a pop star or movie star and dream of inventing something. That’s probably good for everyone’s future.”

Well said Chris.

But here is what is so striking: virtually all of the Organizers I spoke with credit the TED and TEDx community for their success. Almost none took credit for themselves. Many said they feel a greater sense of responsibility and devotion to their cause because the community is so invested in their success. Ian Murphy, Executive Producer of TEDxUSC explains, “when the community gets together it’s like a United Nations summit. It’s people from around the world that come together to share resources, share stories and just kind of be there for each other. It’s a very collaborative and cooperative environment where everyone is invested in making TED a better experience for everyone involved.”

The Power and Reach of TED

TED is a big deal — a gift from Anderson that is shaped by the world’s most inspired thinkers coming together to spread and seed ideas that matter. And it costs the world nothing to watch.

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Awesome article! I am a TEDx organizer at my university and it is one of the funnest, most incredible events to get involved with. It’s incredible how many people are willing to come together for the sake of “ideas worth spreading”. You get to hear so many incredible stories that you would have missed out on otherwise.

Mark just so you know our event will be held on May 13th 2013. Tickets and info on the speaker will come out in the next few weeks. If your interested in coming we should be able to reserve a ticket or 2 for you.

Great article. As a co-organizer of Tedx Santa Cruz, me and our whole team have been humbled and exhilarated by the process of organizing Tedx events, and by the reactions of our community here and around the world, and by the feedback from speakers. Sitting around a table with our curation team on a conference call with one of the leading astrophysicists in the world, I’ll never forget his comment after an hour of probing and shaping his prospective talk. As we were concluding our session, we all said thank you– it was a brilliant discussion, and we’d felt privileged to have it with him. His response: “No, thank you. Even if you don’t select me to speak, I’ve learned more in the last hour about how to TEACH and present my material to students and others than I have in all of my years trying to hone it myself.” We’re all volunteers who work hard to create the arc of a program that results is some kind of enlightenment, insight, spur or call to action; events that ultimately create community. These are events that introduce a community to itself and reflect the incredible ability human beings have to investigate and innovate, to create and solve, to inspire and overcome. I thank Chris Anderson for his inspired vision, and you for spreading a great idea: Ted and Tedx!

Thank you Mark for sharing that enlightening overview and perspective on TED and TEDx! I just set up a profile on TED a couple of days ago and I actually learned more about all the reasons that everyone should become involved from your article and the comments from several TEDx organizers. Thank you all for that.